Gone
by alebcay
Summary: A year after Chihiro went back home, neither she nor Haku can let go of each other. A one-shot vignette of sorts and my first fanfiction.


**A/N: This is my first try at a fanfiction so I just tried a one-shot which I wrote in a single two hour sitting. Hope it's okay. Reviews would be appreciated. No characters in this story are mine; all characters belong to their respective owners.**

**EDIT: I just re-watched Chihiro's departure scene. A good portion of Haku's portion below has been slightly re-written to be more consistent with some details from the movie.**

_Chihiro_

The hot sun overhead shined down on her as she walked home from school. Her feet kicked up small clouds of dirt as she walked. She passed one side road after another as rows of houses seemed to pass her. She looked up from the ground. The final part of her journey was upon her - a small hill. She could see her house, a light teal color, sitting halfway up the slope, perhaps just a half mile away. But today, just the same as every other day, she paid more attention to the dirt path that strayed off to her left. Her eyes followed the path, darting up towards the forest. The path disappeared in the grove, obscured by the thick, green, vegetation and a light mist.

It was the path that had so radically changed her life a year ago. She became a completely different person, and she met new friends. And then there was Haku. A grin crept across her face as his name drifted across her mind. How could she ever forget him? He was the one that had taken care of her in the spirit world. She'd learned not to give up even when things were difficult and never to give up on the ones that she loved. She had grown up.

She sighed as she walked on. The image of Haku faded from her mind as she turned towards the ground ahead of her. She walked past the forest, and finally reached her house. It never compared to the home that she had found in the bathhouse - she would always miss her friends at the bath house: Bôh, Lin, No-Face, Zeniba, even Yubaba, and especially Haku - but it would have to do.

As she reached for the front door, a sudden breeze picked up, almost blowing her off her feet. Leaves were ripped off of trees as they fluttered around. The window panes shook in the wind as if they were teacups. There was only one time she'd encountered a wind so strong, and that was when…. She stopped in middle of the thought as she glanced up in the sky. For a single moment, she thought she saw a single silver streak in the sky. It waved around, as if it were a single silver ribbon dancing in the wind. As it caught the sun's rays, she looked away for a moment as the light blinded her. And then, just as abruptly as it had picked up, the wind died down. The leaves gently floated to the ground, and the window panes settled. She looked up again, and the sky was completely clear. _Granny__ was right_, she thought. _Once you meet someone, you really don't ever forget them. In fact, you can't forget them even if you tried._

_Haku_

The sky was shining perhaps a slightly brighter shade of blue than usual. It was a cloudless day, apart from several streaks of cirrus clouds that embellished the azure sky and a single ribbon soaring in the wind. Slowly circling down, it neared the ground as the wind picked up, blowing across the water and leaving ripples in the wake, and then it was no longer a ribbon anymore. It was a young man, perhaps nearing his twenties. This was the last spot that he'd been with her. The girl who changed everything for him. The girl who saved his life. _The girl who gave him back his name._

In the days after Chihiro left, he had gone to Yubaba and quit his apprenticeship under her. She was appalled, but he had been quite insistent. A few months later, he'd decided to leave the bathhouse altogether and spend some time at Zeniba's cottage instead, although every now and then, he still visited the bathhouse, though not as an employee, but rather as a guest.

He still remembered the very spot at which he stood at. He remembered the sea of grass that had confronted him and Chihiro that day; he had never seen the grass ever again after that day. He took an envelope out of his pocket. With a trembling hand, he carefully took out the thin piece of card stock contained within. Upon it, scribbled quite hastily near the bottom, was a single name: _Chihiro_. He stared pensively at the card for a moment, and then with one last glance, he looked at the starry lights of the buildings that glimmered from across the sea. Moments later, the strong gust returned once again, and a lone dragon could be seen circling up, higher and higher, over the tops of buildings as the town became quiet once again.

Perhaps an hour or two later, he arrived at an unassuming cottage, surrounded by a wooden fence that had fallen into disrepair. His sandaled feet touched the ground one after the other, his right and then his left, as a cloud of dust billowed up. The front door of the cottage opened with a loud and irritating creak as a rather aged and stout woman peered out and asked him, "Where have you been, Haku? I was getting worried about you."

He averted her gaze, and instead looked down at the envelope, which he was still holding in his hand. "I was, uh, doing some...remembering...", he muttered as he trailed off.

"Ah, you know what I always tell you, Haku: you couldn't forget her even if you tried. That's what true love does to you!" The lady chuckled to herself, and perhaps if one were to watch carefully enough, they would notice the young man's cheeks flush the slightest shade of pink as the corners of his mouth curled into a smile.


End file.
